LONDON (Commodity Online): Come 2010, consumers will rushing to platinum instead of gold as the white metal is set to beat the yellow metal as platinum supply will be down in the coming months.

Standard Chartered said platinum-gold ratio remains well below its historical range of 1.5 to 2.

Platinum is currently trading at a modest premium to gold, compared to recent history, and therefore seems attractive as a relative value play.

Platinum has soared 61 per cent this year, rebounding from a 39 per cent slump in 2008, after investors bought precious metals as an alternative to a declining dollar. The dollar index has tumbled 8.4 per cent this year, boosting platinum held in ETF Securities Ltd’s exchange-traded commodities products to a record on November 27.

Platinum briefly traded at parity with gold last December for the first time in 12 years as the global recession curbed demand. Supply will outpace demand by 140,000 ounces this year, compared with a shortfall of 240,000 ounces last year, after a 33 per cent drop in demand from autocatalyst makers, Johnson Matthey Plc said.

The small surplus this year should turn into a deficit on higher industrial consumption and a higher base in jewelry demand.

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